I’ve created a business out of creating new things from old pianos.
I can’t save every piano that is about to head to the dump. I really wish I could. If I had a quarter for every call I get from someone telling me they have an old piano sitting in their Grandmother’s basement, I’d be rich.
Pianos don’t live forever. They fall apart and, honestly, get pretty gross inside. Something that used to be a functional and lovely musical instrument, becomes a dusty thing that no one uses anymore.
It’s time to think outside of the box.
I’m going to share some of the cool things that I create for clients out of old pianos and piano parts. Ideally, a piano can be restored and continue to make music. This is unfortunately not reality for a lot of old pianos (by old, I mean 70 or more years). One, it’s really expensive. Two, a run of the mill upright piano is not worth restoring. It’s just not. The good news, is that I have ideas. I do this for a living. I tune and repair the pianos that have life left in them. When that is not an option, I pick ideas out of my brain and I get to work.
Project 1: Put a keyboard in it!
I create what I like to call 9 Lives Pianos for businesses. 9 Lives Pianos are a micro brand under The Piano Gal Shop umbrella. These cool pianos are my way of getting a piano to live on a little longer as a musical instrument. When a piano is too far gone for repair work and tuning, but restoration is not an option, this project can keep the piano making music as a digital. This option is also perfect for a business that gets noisy, like a bar or restaurant because these can be amplified. They are also great for an office building because they can be used with headphones.
This 9 Lives Piano was created for Yahara Bay Distillers that has live music on a regular basis. When I gut a piano, I remove EVERYTHING. That includes the cast iron plate. It’s quite labor intensive to remove everything from a piano, so it’s important to know what you’re doing. It can also be dangerous. Ask an expert (like me) before you attempt to remove parts from a piano, particularly the strings and pins. They hold tons of tension and poking an eye out is a possibility if you’re not careful.
This 9 Lives Piano was created for popular digital sheet music retailer, Music Notes. This piano gets used regularly in their offices by their arrangers and staff. They can just sit down and try out a new arrangement with the headphones on, but it looks like they are using an acoustic piano. They also take the piano with them to music conventions, such as NAMM, so that people can sit down and try out new music. It’s light and easy to transport.
Be sure to subscribe to The Piano Gal Shop blog. There are lots more uses for old pianos that I’ve done for clients and I will share with you!
Musically,
Marta
The Piano Gal
